This invention relates to marketing displays, such as merchandise hangers, shelving and racks.
As is well known, a variety of hangers, shelving, racks and similar merchandise supports are used to support and display merchandise for convenient viewing and access by customers. A label support usually is provided on each merchandise support for supporting and prominently exhibiting a label or xe2x80x9ctagxe2x80x9d that may contain pricing, stockkeeping units and other information and indicia pertaining to the merchandise that is on display.
In such merchandise displays, it is desirable to permit ready application, removal and exchange of information labels, e.g. as in instances of changing of the products, prices, sale announcements, images which facilitate inventorying, and other pertinent information. It is further desirable to permit easy changes in the label application and support system.
The general aim of the present invention is to provide marketing displays with improved label holder arrangements that permit easy removal and replacement of adhesive labels on such displays.
A more specific object of the invention is to provide such displays and related labels which assure smooth attractive affixation of each adhesive label while also providing simple, quick and economical removal and replacement as well as exchange of the labels as marketing circumstances and product information change.
Another object of the invention is to facilitate complete removal or exchange of the components of a labelling system, such as to allow for exchange of the components or for the substitution of a different system.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.
Marketing display supports, which are designed for supporting products for selection and purchase by customers as those customers pass the supported products, are provided with a label supporting panel surface that includes an outer release layer. That release layer provides readily releasable adherent support for adhesive labels which display product information. More specifically, the release layer, which may be a thin coating of a silicone or similar material, adherently retains and supports an adhesively coated label that is pressed onto that surface and will readily release such a label, i.e. will permit the label to be peeled off cleanly with little effort, normally without tearing or splitting the label or leaving any residue therefrom on the label panel surface. Thereby labels applied to the label panel are exposed outwardly relative to the support for viewing by customers who pass by the display. The labels also are readily removable and replaceable, as well as exchangeable, by merchandising personnel as the facts and circumstances to be displayed change from time to time.
In the preferred embodiments, the release layer is affixed to the label support. One such embodiment utilizes a thin flexible liner or carrier member. This member includes a carrier body layer such as of paper or a synthetic base stock or a laminate of such stock materials and is adhered to the support surface of the label support panel in a relatively permanent manner. The release layer is provided on the outward side of the carrier body and thereby is exposed outwardly. In another preferred embodiment, the release layer is applied as a coating directly onto the label support panel. In each instance, adhesively backed labels are readily attached smoothly on the release layer and are readily and easily removable and replaceable manually by store personnel.
In a further preferred embodiment, label holding liners that are easily attached relatively permanently to merchandise supports by adhesive also are conveniently removable cleanly, to leave little or no residue on the merchandise supports, even after long periods of being so adhered to the merchandise supports. The peel strength of the bond between the liner-attaching adhesive and the carrier body of the liner as well as the tensile and tear strengths of the carrier body significantly exceed the strength of the bond of the liner-attaching adhesive to the label supporting surface of a merchandise support. The bond of the labels to the release layer is of significantly lesser strength. The bond of the release layer to the carrier body of course is sufficient to retain the release layer in place on the liner as the labels are applied and removed.
In a yet further preferred embodiment, the carrier body is formed of a laminate of two synthetic plastic materials. The material of the lamina on the carrier attachment side is selected for its ability to provide the requisite strong bond with the attaching adhesive while the lamina on the label side of the carrier body is selected for its suitability for the application of and retentive bonding with the release layer. The attaching-side lamina also preferably is opaque and readily printable. The label-side lamina and the release layer preferably are transparent. Thereby information such as advertising may be printed on the inward surface of the attaching lamina and be visible to passing customers and others through the label-side lamina and the release layer. Also, due to the opacity of the attaching-side lamina, the liner covers and hides any irregularities, prior marking, residue or other scars on the underlying support surface over which the liner is mounted.